B04: The Pragmatic Craft of Governance: Alternative Strategies of Chinese Medieval Rulership

Friday, March 25, 2022

9:30am – 11:00am EST

Location: Conv. Center, Room 313B

Organizer(s)

Debby Chih-Yen Huang

Academia Sinica, Taiwan (Republic of China)
Soojung Han

Princeton University, United States

Chair(s)

SP

Scott Pearce

Western Washington University, United States

Paper Presenter(s)

JS

Jonathan Skaff

Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, United States
Debby Chih-Yen Huang

Academia Sinica, Taiwan (Republic of China)
Soojung Han

Princeton University, United States
Hilde De Weerdt

Leiden University, Netherlands

Discussant(s)

SP

Scott Pearce

Western Washington University, United States

Session Abstract: By its nature, rulership has thrived on putting forth symbols of majesty and order. Accordingly, illustrious rulers like Tang Emperor Taizong and administrative traditions like primogeniture have long been considered the hallmarks of Chinese rulership. This panel critically analyzes idealizations and models of medieval Chinese rulership. Quite apart from abstract canonical models, medieval Chinese rulers practiced a craft of governance with the pragmatic objective of balancing court factions and consolidating power. With a focus on the Tang dynasty, the four presenters explore rulership strategies and the conceptualization of rulership in the context of the realpolitik of their times. Jonathan Skaff questions the application of the ideology of primogeniture in the early medieval period and traces the violent struggles of imperial princes, and other males, females, and eunuchs at court to succeed to the throne. Successful rulers subsequently leveraged the ideological, military and legal systems to maintain peace. Debby Chih-Yen Huang examines Tang rulers’ discourses on courtier-ship, arguing that emperors explicitly considered closeness an essential element of ideal courtier-ship. In her exploration of the rise and fall of empresses in Tang, Soojung Han argues that the policies enforced by emperors to contain maternal power led to the rise of eunuchs, ironically further weakening Tang rulership. Hilde De Weerdt examines interpretations of Taizong's art of governance in early modern European political discourses and argues that modern critiques underestimate the cultural challenges and effect of the alternative governance models that were made available through translations of Tang political advice literature.

Presentations:

It Was Not Easy Being a Prince: Violence at Six Dynasties, Sui and Tang Courts
Paper Presenter: Jonathan Skaff – Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania
The Gesture of Closeness: Revisiting Courtier-ship and Factionalism in Early Tang
Paper Presenter: Debby Chih-Yen Huang – Academia Sinica
Tipping the Scales: The Rise and Fall of Empress-ship in Tang
Paper Presenter: Soojung Han – Princeton University
Modeling Taizong's Art of Governance in the Eighteenth-Century German-speaking World
Paper Presenter: Hilde De Weerdt – Leiden University